Winston Churchill once opined - "India is merely a geographical expression. It is no more a single country than the Equator." After 60 years, since she has got independence from the clutches of her imperial rulers, India now stands at the threshold of a new era. Wrong Churchill was, and in these 60 years India has proved it beyond any doubt. But in this new world order, where Cold War is history and bipolar world, a thing of the past, opportunities are bountiful and so are challenges. The emergence of China and India as two economic powerhouses has changed the permutations and combinations of international affairs. Now we Indians are fighting with the Chinese for having the lion's share of this new Asian economic resurgence. At this point of time it will be worthwhile to consider some of the areas in which India could focus which would help it to become the super power it aspires to become in the future.
Poverty Eradication
In his Independence Day speech the Prime Minister proclaimed that the independence for India would not be complete until poverty is eradicated in the country. Statistics of the Planning Commission in India shows that 27.5% of the people in India are living below the poverty line in 2004-05, which was 36% during 1993-94. This remains a major challenge for the Indian Government. Some of the reasons for this relatively high level of poverty are over reliance on agriculture, absence of property rights, unemployment and under-employment, the caste systems etc. There should be increased public spending on poverty eradication methods, assistance should be given to self-help groups and NGOs working in the rural areas, industrialization should be given top priority, land reforms are to be undertaken and the employability of the people should be increased with adequate training and education. There is renewed optimism that poverty eradication will get an impetus with the trickle down effect of the growing middle class of India.
Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure is the basic building block of any development. Development of infrastructure in India leaves much to be desired. One of the most important factors that pull back India's giant leap forward is the lack of infrastructure development and in this aspect we are no comparison to the Chinese. There should be a concerted effort towards the improvement of infrastructure facilities in India, may it be the railways, roadways, aviation, telecommunication, oil and natural gas pipelines, shipping or power generation. There should be a conducive environment for an increased public-private partnership in this sector.
Education
India is the home of ancient organized education and its Gurukul form of education was well known all over the world. In the first few millennia, India had some of the greatest universities of all times - Nalanda, Thakshila, Ujjain etc. But the arrival of the British imperialism had destroyed the very base of Indian education. At this time when India is celebrating her 60th Independence Day, there is a dire need for improvement of this state of affairs. Education is surely the prime responsibility of the Government and as in the case of poverty eradication there should be increased public spending in the same as well, there should be a mechanism to ensure that education is available to the weaker sections of the society including women and the backward classes meanwhile caste based reservation should be abolished, education should not be the privilege of the few but its should be made available to all who needs it, media publicity and advocacy should be given for the publicity of education, job-oriented education and training should be established by the state, merit should be the only criteria for a student to get admission in the professional colleges, destructive and disruptive politics in the educational institutions should be abolished and art and literature learning should be made mandatory in all forms of education, as these studies forms the basis of creation of compassion and love in the hearts of a human being.
Investment and Employment Generation
Investment and hence employment generation should be a priority sector for the central and the state governments. Employment generation is the best way for eradicating poverty and investment by the state as well as from private parties should be established. A combination of investment in the agrarian sector as well as in industrial sector will be the best bet for India. At the same time there should be investment and employment generation in the tertiary sector as well. Indian companies are investing globally and are acquiring global firms and that is certainly a good sign and it shows the strength and competency of the India Inc. The economics of investment in infrastructure by the government and its subsequent effect in employment generation will augur well for the economic development of the country.
Energy Security
India's energy needs are increasing in a very fast pace owing to its increasing population and staggering economic development. India is having strong reserves of coal but depends on import of oil and natural gas from other countries. Ever increasing crude oil prices in the global market is therefore a huge challenge for India's energy security. India's oil reserves are mainly based on offshore Bombay and onshore Assam fields and those reserves are not all adequate for meeting India's needs. Therefore there should be efforts towards managing this situation by looking for renewable sources of energy. The Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline will be a great achievement if the respective Governments are able to break the deadlock. India's new endeavor towards nuclear co-operation with the United States is certainly a good move towards realizing energy security.
Health care Sector
One sector that needs much greater attention is the healthcare sector in India that is at a declining stage right now. There should be improved care and development in areas like child and mother care, rural health services, medical education, medical tourism, AIDS awareness and family welfare programs. An improvement in these areas is a very important factor in determining the actual development of a country. Medical education is a very important sector in the domestic as well as in the international arena, the job opportunities that this sector provides is enormous and there should be efficient education and training programs to exploit this opportunity. Medical tourism is another important area where we have the competency and resources and the government should take effective steps to utilize this opportunity as well.
Monetary Policies
Recently released official figures shows that India's foreign exchange reserves has reached $213.35 billion as on 30th June and the country's reserve position in the IMF is $460 million. This is a very favorable position and hence it calls for a very positive utilization of these reserves for public spending in infrastructure development that in turn will result in higher economic development. But high inflation, which stands at 4.41% in July, is a worrying factor for the government. This high rate of inflation is primarily because of the high prices of the food items, but with the good monsoon that India got recently this high inflation will get reduced in the months to come. The high volatility of the monetary ratios makes the indulgence of the RBI a very important factor in maintaining economic growth and development.
Corruption
Corruption is a universal malady and India is no exception. One of the sad facts about corruption in India is that it’s not a unique phenomenon seen only among politicians but it can be seen in all walks of life. We, in India have corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, judges, professors, doctors and NGO activists. Corruption is an indelible stigma of our nation that has to be jettisoned as soon as possible.
Terrorism and Chauvinism
Terrorism and chauvinism are two vices that India would want to remove with utmost urgency. Terrorism poses a threat to the whole world and India is one among the nations that are hot targets of terrorists of different hues. May it be the al-Qaeda, LTTE, or any other terrorist organization, all have their malicious eyes on India and wants to sabotage the peace and tranquility of this great nation. We have to prevent them with iron hands and our armed forces are ready to tackle any challenge from the terrorists.. Chauvinism is yet another problem that modern India is facing. In a democratic country like India there is no place for any sort of chauvinism. We, the people of India will prevent chauvinism that poses any threat to the democratic fabric of the nation. Our strength lies in our Unity in Diversity and we have always maintained our unique identity in this world because of the same and hence we have to together thwart any sinister designs of people with chauvinist attitude.
Sports
Another important area that the Indian Government has to focus on is sports and games arena. As of now cricket is the only game in which we are standing in good stead. There was a time when there was no equal to the Indian hockey team. But the situation has worsened over the years. Now sports sector in India is in utter disarray and calls for an immediate action from the Government. Being the host of Olympics is a distant dream and doesn't seems to be happening in the near future. In comparison, China is hosting the 2008 Olympics and the arrangements for it is going on in full swing and Beijing is getting ready for welcoming the World. The Government will have to establish world class facilities for grooming young sporting talents in the country, separate programs for finding out these talents should be done in state level and district level, sports organization should find ways to promote different sports among the youth, scholarship should be given to budding talents for sharpening their skills and Government spending on sports facilities development should be enhanced.
In this occasion of India's 60th Independence day, all of us can set our priorities for the future. The setting of priorities is important not only for the Government but for every single one of us, for we are a diverse group of people with one unique identity and the combined effort of this diverse group results in the national development in the macro level. As Shashi Tharoor has put it, the singular thing about India is that you can only speak of it in the plural. This pluralism is our unique identity, we have different caste, creed, color, cuisine, culture and language, but one soul - of an Indian.
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